We were lucky to catch up with Jim Ousley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on is inevitably the latest project I’ve worked on. In the case of The Atonement Bell though, my latest series with artist Tyler B. Ruff, I have to say that I think this will always remain as one of my favorite stories. Like most of my stories, the lessons of empathy, particularly the absence of it, are what tends to run through the narrative. The Atonement Bell has scratched so many itches for me, though. I am a lifelong horror fan, so it was a dream to write a series in that genre. It also takes place in my hometown of St. Louis, which I had actually never done before. I had wanted to set a series in my hometown for quite some time, but it never quite fit what I was going for. This time, St. Louis ended up being the perfect place to tell a ghost story.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I had spent quite a number of years in St. Louis playing music in bands and writing songs. No one else really wanted to write lyrics, so I began to just do it myself. That led to reviewing albums, concerts, and doing interviews with other musicians for a local music publication. I had also been some local theatre with my good friend Oscar Madrid, and we met up at Magic Smoking Monkey Theater. Because we worked with so many talented and funny people, we thought it would be fun to capture them for posterity in a movie. Stupidly, we thought this would be a piece of cake. It was not a piece of cake. However, we soldiered though and wrote a screenplay and had the good luck of working with crew folks who knew a lot more than we did. We ended up finishing it and, lo and behold, it even won a few awards. A couple of years later, I was invited by my friend Jason Green to attend an Ink & Drink Comics meeting, which was somewhat of a life-changer. Ink & Drink is an art collective that pairs up artists and writers, and they publish themed anthologies twice a year. Since that time I did a couple of my own anthologies and wrote three series for Red 5 Comics – Butcher Queen: Black Star City, Butcher Queen: Planet of the Dead (both with artist Benjamin Sawyer), and my latest series The Atonement Bell with artist Tyler B. Ruff. Writing is a genuine passion, and I love telling stories. The opportunity to have a wider reach with Red 5 Comics is a wonderful, exciting thing. That’s where I am today, and for a longtime fan of comics, to be able to write them is an extraordinarily wonderful feeling.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My one and only goal is to tell a story that I love and let people know it’s out there. There are many artists pushing their creations into the world, that it’s more important than ever to point people toward your work. Writing can be so rewarding, but it’s something that takes so much time to craft in a way that feels satisfying. Getting it finished really is only half the battle. Promoting your work is an entirely different discipline that requires its own bank of hours to accomplish. If you’re someone that wants your work to be recognized, purchased, enjoyed, whatever, pointing folks to it and letting them know its out there is simply part of the gig. You have to do it.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the ability to touch someone’s heart and mind with your story. In the case of The Atonement Bell, I was getting a lot of things off my chest. If doing that feels good to me, it stands to reason that it will feel good to someone else. The trick is to wrap it in a narrative that’s entertaining and means something. It’s a wonderful feeling, and that’s why I love doing signings and conventions. I get to meet these people and discuss aspects of the story, and to be able to have that connection is absolutely priceless. That may sound corny, but really, that’s the reward. Money is very rarely a reward at all! If the reader can find something to relate to in a way that either takes them away from their troubles or makes them feel not so alone in the world, that’s a victory we can all share in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Jim-Ousley/186789742
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radio_jimbo/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAtonementBell/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-ousley-writer/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JimOusley
• Other: https://www.red5comics.com/atonement-bell

Image Credits
Photograph – Grant Essig The Atonement Bell art – Tyler B. Ruff Butcher Queen art – Benjamin Sawyer